In the glass: Very dark, rich burnt mahogany red perhaps the darkest single rum I have, a little darker even than the Gosling’s Black Seal! Swirled it produces thin fast legs.

On the nose: A little alcohol at first and acetone but minimal and disappear quickly letting the rum breath for a while. There is also dark molasses, burnt caramel (treacle), raisin and a rich clove-like spice, some chocolate, in rich combination that varies as the rum is rested and then sipped.

Mouth feel: Creamy but not overmuch. Smooth with but a little fire going down in a medium long sweet finish that keeps the cream.

Flavor: Wow, a burst of flavors in many dimensions but hitting high notes in molasses, treacle, dark brown sugar, tobacco, coffee liqueur, and milk chocolate. What I really like about this rum is that the flavors aren’t all squished together, you can taste everything and something different seems to pop out with every sip. There is oak in there underlying it all, and a lighter caramel seems to float in there too. The rum is sweet but only enough to be pleasant. I cannot find a sugar test for this rum, but I’m going to guess it will fall in the lower to mid range for added sugar. It is distinctly sweet, more than some, but nearly as much as other rums in my collection.

Cigar pairing potential: Superb! Goes with everything with the possible exception of very mild and lightly flavored cigars. I don’t think this would pair well with a “yard gar”. But do check this one out with a good medium strong and full flavored cigar. Brings out a lot of sugar, roastings, and leather in the smoke.

I think this is a very under appreciated rum. There are few reviews and no results in the sugar test lists that I have found. The bottle says “20 years aged” but I don’t know what that really means. The rum is only $35 at my retailer which puts it into the low-middle price bracket for me and I doubt it is all aged 20 years for that price. It is likely a solera style rum and so perhaps has some 20 year in it.

This was one of the first rums I really got into. My retailer eventually ran out and I was without it for a couple of years when I found it again. I wondered if I would still like it as much and I do! The one independent review I’ve found claimed the rum was “unbalanced”. Perhaps the reviewer did not appreciate the heavy notes in the flavor profile but I think they are great flavors and make the rum stand out. Especially as you can taste them all! It reminds me of the more expensive Dos Maderas 5+5 without the sherry notes. As usual I liked the rum originally because it went well with cigars I like and that continues to be the case. Among my less expensive bottles I will definitely keep this one around!

Highly recommended for cigar pairing!